Prakash Raj tweeted late Monday that he will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as an independent.
Bengaluru: Actor Prakash Raj has decided to take the political plunge, announcing late Monday that he will contest in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Raj tweeted on the eve of New Year that he will contest as an independent but did not reveal the constituency he plans to contest from.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE..a new beginning .. more responsibility.. with UR support I will be contesting in the coming parliament elections as an INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE. Details of the constituency soon. Ab ki baar Janatha ki SARKAR #citizensvoice #justasking in parliament too..
— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) December 31, 2018
Sources close to the actor said that Raj has set his mind on a seat in Karnataka as he has a special bond with the state. Raj was born, educated and had his theatrical debut in Bengaluru.
A vocal critic of the Narendra Modi government ever since his friend and journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead on 5 September 2017, Raj had courted controversy throughout 2018 due to his stance.
In May, he told ThePrint that Bollywood hadn’t offered him a role since October 2017 when he began speaking out against Modi. “There is no problem (with the film industry) in the south, but there has been no offer from the Hindi film industry since I began speaking out,” Raj, a long-time friend of Lankesh, had said.
Raj has been using every available platform to raise public debate and oppose “communal forces” in the country. He launched a social media campaign called #Just Asking in May through which he has been questioning lawmakers on the effectiveness of their governance, particularly targeting the Modi government on its policies.
Also read: Bollywood hasn’t offered me a role since I started speaking out against Modi: Prakash Raj
A year of controversies
For Raj, politics has become an integral part of his life. He recently released a book Dosita Chinukulu in Telugu with translations in Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil. The book is a compilation of his commentary on society, politics and his life.
An award-winning versatile actor, who works in five different Indian languages, Raj has also not shied away from expressing his opinion on a host of controversies throughout last year.
In January 2018, he made it clear that he was against the Prime Minister and BJP president Amit Shah.
“They say I am anti-Hindu. No, I am anti-Modi, anti-Hegde, anti-Amit Shah,” he said during a session at the India Today South conclave. “According to me, they are not Hindus. (Union minister) Anant Kumar Hegde, who says he wants to wipe out an ‘ism’, a religion from the face of this earth, cannot be a Hindu.”
When the Padmavaat controversy broke, Raj tweeted that the government had looked the other way when Hindu radical outfit Karni Sena attacked a school bus.
Children of my country shiver with fear and cry….as karni Sena attacks a school bus….The elected Government looks the other way..The opposition party diplomatically reacts…aren’t u all ashamed to trade our children’s safety ..for ur vote bank politics..#justasking
— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) January 24, 2018
Raj had also courted controversy for his remarks on cow urine and dung.
“You do not know about cows. You know about cow urine. If you want to wash your clothes, you need 1 kg cow dung and 2 litres of cow urine,” Raj had said in August. “You then need to mix all of this and wash your clothes. Why because, except for cow urine, you do not know anything else. So, do not give us this story.”
The comments led to a Bengaluru-based advocate filing a police complaint against the actor, claiming that it had hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Also read: ‘Embarrassed’ Prakash Raj calls Cong MLA’s son Nalapad a ‘demon’ for assaulting youth
After MGR, NTR and Jayalalitha, NO actor has succeeded in politics. Hemamalini is not a ‘real’ success though she has been an MP for long. When the likes of even Rajinikanth and Kamal are adrift and struggling to find their feet, this man has NO hope at all. He has absolutely no base and NO support.